| Siskiyou Mountain Club
Long live the backwoods trails |
Contact, Gabriel Howe, Executive Director Gabe@siskiyoumountainclub.org 541-708-2056 |
08 MARCH 2022
For Immediate Release: Siskiyou Mountain Club Hiring for 2022 trail season, “and our crews go hard.”
ASHLAND, OR. — Siskiyou Mountain Club is hiring interns for their 2022 Wilderness Conservation Corps, with start dates of May 1, June 6, and June 29. Interns serve two month terms, receive a $1,200 monthly allowance and up to $1,000 in performance bonuses over a term. Some interns serve longer and eventually get hired on as staff. Go to siskiyoumountainclub.org/wcc2022 for details and to apply.
Interns don’t need prior experience or a high school diploma. “But they need determination and grit,” says the Club’s executive director, Gabriel Howe. And they do need to be 18 or over by their start date. “This is not your cookie-cutter Corps program,” Howe elaborates. “This is the real deal, not everyone makes the cut, and our crews go hard.”
The program provides students a challenging environment to pursue personal growth and professional development in, and the Club provides documentation and support for students who use the experience to obtain credit through their respective college or university.
The Club’s trail crews backpack into remote project sites and work from wilderness areas for eight days at a time. On the four days off in between each work hitch, they stay at developed campsites near towns, and the Club provides transportation and support. Interns are led by staff members with multiple seasons of experience with backcountry trail crews, and participate in group activities on their days off.
Interns receive industry credentials, a certificate of 500 hours of Corps service recognized by a national corps network, and help developing a resume. “And a darn good one,” Howe adds. On days off, interns visit different sites throughout the region and meet with natural resource and conservation professionals. They journal everyday and meet personalized goals throughout their term of service.
“We create a scaffolding for interns to secure meaningful employment,” says Howe, “including with us sometimes.” The organization often hires from within and is on a growth trajectory, with new landscape-scale projects starting in northwest California this season. The crew has 2022 projects planned in the Rogue River-Siskiyou, Six Rivers, and Klamath national forests. Work is funded by the Forest Service and the Club’s approximately 1,400 donors. ###
